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Tigers' finals already in the balance, says Matthew Richardson

Jason Phelan

Tyrone Vickery of the Tigers gets away from Jake Stringer of the Bulldogs during the round three match on Saturday. Photo: Getty Images

Richmond's finals hopes are already hanging in the balance, according to club legend Matthew Richardson.

''Richo'' turned up the heat on the Tigers after only three games - an unconvincing win over Carlton and disappointing losses to Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs - and facing a Friday night clash with Collingwood at the MCG.

"I make no excuses for Richmond - they should be 3-0," Richardson said on 3AW on Sunday.

"There's been no improvement. In fact, there's inconsistency in their game in the first three rounds and there's no improvement.

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"If they don't win on Friday against Collingwood it's going to be a very, very tough job to get back from there and play in September."

His comments came the day after Richmond, touted as a potential top-four team, trailed a youthful Bulldogs side by 37 points at half-time before going down by two points.

But while Richardson was scathing about the team's progress this season, he pinpointed Jack Riewoldt as a potential match winner against the Pies after the mercurial spearhead returned to form with four second-half goals against the Dogs.

"It may have been a turning point for Jack," he said. "The first two weeks for Jack were a little bit up and down, but the second half was a positive for him and maybe that's a sign of things to come over the next few weeks. They're certainly going to need him against Collingwood."

Richmond sorely missed the influence of Brett Deledio (ankle) against the Dogs, with ruckman Shaun Hampson (knee) also unable to take his place. Football manager Dan Richardson said it was too early to tell whether either player would be fit to take on the Pies.

"It's a bit early to know, but we were always hopeful that they'd only miss a week. Hopefully that's still the case, but we'll obviously make sure they're both absolutely right to come back."

Emerging star Nick Vlastuin is also under a cloud after being concussedon Saturday.

"It sounds like it's a mild concussion, but we'll just have to assess him during the week," Richardson said.

"That will be the doc's call, but from all accounts he's pulled up OK."

Richmond's indifferent start to the season may have put the club under the spotlight, but Richardson said the mood remained upbeat at Punt Road.

"We're confident that our best footy is competitive against anyone," he said.

"We've just got to make sure that we're able to do that for longer and more consistently. We're still confident that our best footy is up to the standard of most teams.

"We're looking forward to a big clash. It will be a good test for both clubs, both of which probably haven't got their seasons off to ideal starts, but there's a long way to go."

The Pies have fared no better than Richmond after three rounds with just one win, against the Swans in Sydney, sandwiched between losses to Fremantle and Geelong.

Out-of-sorts star Dane Swan made small steps towards a return to form against the Cats, but his 23-disposal performance was still well below his best, while Travis Cloke was held goalless by Tom Lonergan.

Nathan Buckley offered a blunt assessment of the pair after the match.

"Clokey was beaten, and Swanny was one of the mix in the midfield that was well [down]," he said.

Buckley said his medical staff had been kept busy during the intense clash at the MCG with former skipper Nick Maxwell the chief concern.

The influential defender limped from the ground heavily favouring his left ankle in the first quarter. He returned to play out the match after receiving treatment, but was unable to take his place for a scheduled television appearance on Sunday morning.

"That's just about keeping him off his feet," football manager Rodney Eade said.

"He looks as though he'll be OK. We'll keep him off it early in the week, but the prognosis is not too bad. We'll get more of an update when we get some scans just to be certain."

Dayne Beams also received treatment for an ankle injury, but Eade said it was less severe than Maxwell's and would not keep him from the important match.

The news is not so good for Sam Dwyer, who Eade said had sustained a minor medial ligament strain, which would sideline him for "one or maybe two games at a maximum".

The match review panel may also have a hand in the make-up of the two sides with incidents involving Tigers Matt Thomas and Riewoldt and young Magpie Taylor Adams to be assessed.